In Spireon, Inc. v. Flex Ltd., No. 2022-1578 (Fed. Cir. June 26, 2023), the Federal Circuit took a surprising turn in which it held that it is the trademark owner’s burden to prove that identical third-party marks put forth...more
On June 8, 2023, the United States Supreme Court published its long-awaited decision in Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. v. VIP Products LLC—a trademark dispute between whiskey maker Jack Daniel’s and VIP Products, the...more
In an interesting twist, the Ninth Circuit granted summary judgment to a defendant in a trademark infringement case in Lodestar v. Bacardi on April 21, 2022. Given the Ninth Circuit’s common refrain that “summary judgment is...more
For the first time since it began balancing the competing interests of trademark plaintiffs and creators of expressive works, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held this month in Gordon v. Drape Creative that...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed its commitment to the rule that willfulness is a prerequisite for disgorgement of a trademark infringer’s profits in Stone Creek v. Omnia Italian Design, Case No....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit clarified the requirements for pleading and establishing a trademark infringement claim under a “reverse confusion” theory in Marketquest Group v. BIC, Case No. 15-55755 (9th...more
You’ve selected a unique trademark, marketed and sold products under the brand, and continue to build up a base of satisfied customers. But then a new company emerges with a very similar trademark, piggybacking on your...more
11/22/2016
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Trademark Infringement ,
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Young Lawyers
This week, the Supreme Court issued an important ruling that will significantly impact the way parties handle trademark disputes in the United States. The opinion in B&B Hardware, Inv. v. Hargis Industries, Inc., 575 U.S....more
In the first substantial trademark case in over a decade, the Supreme Court unanimously decided that a jury can apply the tacking doctrine and decide whether two trademarks, used by a single party, convey the same commercial...more